High achievers: PM assures help to provinces in achieving MDGs in education

Hands 4 gold, 5 silver and bronze medals to position holders.

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday said education was the key to the success and helps a nation to confront the challenges. He desired that the Pakistani students excel in all fields.    

“Only an educated nation can survive in a fiercely competitive world,” said the prime minister while addressing a ceremony to give awards to high achievers of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education at the PM Secretariat.

Gilani advised the beaming students who got the top three positions in Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) examinations in 2010 and 2011, to serve as role models and lead by setting good examples.

He said after the 18th Amendment education has been devolved to the provinces but assured that the federal government would provide them full assistance in helping meet the Millennium Development Goals.

He also directed that there should be no discrimination among different educational boards across the country, and to ensure that the top achievers get a similar reward.

Prime Minister Gilani also sought the private sector’s help to promote education and particularly mentioned that he announced setting up of a cadet college at Dadial, Azad Kashmir, and was assured that the overseas Pakistanis would help the dream come to a reality.

Prime Minister Gilani asked the students to get necessary skills through the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTEC) as the modern world was in dire needs of highly skilled people.

He advised the students to give due respect and honour to their teachers as they were the builders of their foundations. He recalled one of his Sri Lankan teachers, who met him during his visit to the island nation. He also mentioned Professor Mehdi Hassan and Khalid Khan and said he has high respect for all those who taught him.

Prime Minister particularly noted that the number of girl students was much higher than the male students and said the government has already allocated a 10 per cent quota for women in government jobs and desired they excel in all areas and serve the nation.

Gilani handed over four gold and five silver and bronze medals each to the students of SSC, while 12 gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze medals to the HSSC students.

The Prime Minister handed over four gold medals, five silver and bronze medals and cash awards of Rs50,000, Rs40,000 and Rs30,000 respectively to the first, second and third position holders.

The students of SSC in 2010 who got first positions were Hareem Nisar in science group and Afshan Zahra in humanitarian group. In HSSC 2010 Hina Tanvir in pre-engineering group, Sameen Shaukat, Tayyab Mahmood and Azka Zainab, with a tie, got first positions in pre-medical group.

In SSC 2011 Arooma Majid in science and Saad Jan in humanitarian groups got first positions. In HSSC 2011 the first position holders were Fatima Khalid in pre-engineering Seema Kanwal in pre-medical, Maria Hamdani in science general group, Anab Sundas in humanities and Saima Faiz in commerce group.

Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Minister for Professional and Technical Training in his brief remarks stressed the need for strengthening technical training.

He also urged students to give due respect to their teachers and parents and to focus on their studies to earn a good name for the country.

FBISE Chairperson Dr Shaheen Khan said in 2011 out of 61,015 students of SSC 48,773 were successful with a percentage of 79.94 per cent, while in HSSC 35,117 students were declared successful out of 46,355, showing a percentage of 75.76 per cent. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2011.